Methods and machines for forming decorative articles



Sept. 8, 1970 J. J, THAYER 3,527,392

METHODS AND MACHINES FOR FORMING DECORATIVE ARTICLES Filed March 7, 1966 Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J 1 I r 11m. fi INVENTOR.

Wm, 8W {UM W 5 Sept. 8, 1970 J. J. THAYER 3,527,392

METHODS AND MACHINES FOR FORMING DECORATIVE ARTICLES Filed March 7, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Hllllllflfifil 411mm; 8 l I04 4/4 l/ m C I5 Z I a man "9 Z4 0 M 84! l /8l IN ENTOR.

W MM JWZMM Sept. 8, 1910 METHODS AND MACHINES FOR FORMING DECORATIVE ARTICLES Filed March '7, 1966 J. J. THAYER 4 Sheets-Sheet l5 INVENTOR.

J. J. THAYER Supt s, 1970 METHODS AND MACHINES FOR FORMING DECORATIVE ARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Film March '7. 1966 SMihl'dnu.

United States Patent 3,527,392 METHODS AND MACHINES FOR FORMING DECORATIVE ARTICLES Josephus J. Tllayer, West Lafayette, Ind., assignor to Thayer, Inc, Wolcott, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Mar. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 532,330 Int. ICl. A4111 43/00 US. Cl. 223-46 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A decorative article comprising a pompon-type bow formed from a coil of wound, juxtaposed ribbons, with free end portions of the ribbons extending from the body of the bow as streamers.

Apparatus and method for forming hanks from juxtaposed ribbons to form the abovementioned type of bow, the ribbons being coiled by winding on a mandrel, the ribbons being severed at a point spaced from the mandrel, and the resulting hank being moved to a succeeding work position on the side of the mandrel opposite the side from which the ribbon is fed.

This invention relates to novel decorative articles and to the forming of hanks of ribbon adapted for forming decorative articles. More particularly, this invention per tains to a novel decorative article, to new and improved methods for forming a hank of ribbon designed to form such a decorative article, and to new and improved machines for forming such hanks.

Hanks of ribbon are often used for forming decorative articles. One manner of forming a pompon-type bow is to wind a length of ribbon into a coil, then notch the Wound ribbon along opposite edges at opposite sides of the coil and secure the resulting narrow neck portions of the two sides of the coil together to form a hank. The resulting individual loops of ribbon at each side of the secured neck portions may then be separated to form a bow. Machines have heretofore been known for automatically carrying out the noted steps for forming such hanks. The loops of these hanks are customarily separated by hand to form the final decorative article.

There is a continuing demand for novel decorative articles. While many forms of decorative articles can be fashioned of ribbon by skilled persons, this normally results in a relatively expensive product. Consequently, there is a demand for novel articles which can be produced by machine to provide a relatively inexpensive product, and for new and improved methods and machines for forming such articles.

The objects of this invention include the following: to provide a novel decorative article, and more particularly to provide a novel decorative article which may be economically produced from ribbon by machine; to provide novel and improved methods of forming hanks of ribbon for forming decorative articles; and to provide novel and improved machines adapted for use in economically producing decorative articles.

Further and additional objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

The term ribbon as used herein is intended to be a generic phrase to include any elongated, flexible tape or ribbon-like strip material, which can be manipulated and formed in the general manner and for the purposes described.

In carrying out this invention in one illustrative form, several juxtaposed ribbons are fed from supply rolls of ribbon to a winding mandrel which forms a coil of several turns of ribbon. The ribbons are then severed at a ice point removed from the mandrel to leave free end portions of the ribbons extending from the coil. The coil is then removed from the mandrel and moved in a direction away from the direction of feed to succeeding work stations where the turns of the coil are notched and a fastener is applied to secure the notched portions together to form a hank having the free end or tail portions of the ribbons extending at one side thereof. The individual loops of ribbon formed by the turns of the coil at each side of the fastener are then unnested to form a novel decorative article having the appearance of a pompon bow with a plurality of streamer portions projecting therefrom, somewhat in the manner of prize ribbons often awarded at competitive shows, exhibitions and the like.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should now be had to the drawings wherein the invention is illustrated by way of examples. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the ribbon-manipulating apparatus of a machine for forming hanks in accordance with the teachings of this invention; FIG. 2 is an end view of the winding mandrel and coil transfer mechanism of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the mandrel; FIG. 4 is a side view of the novel ribbon feed mechanism of the apparatus in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows; FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views of portions of the feed mechanism of FIG. 4; FIG. 8 is a side view of the mechanism of FIG. 4 in changed position; FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a ribbon supply for use with the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a modified ribbon feed guide adapted for use in the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIGS. 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d are schematic illustrations of steps in the forming of a hank in accordance with teachings of this invention; FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view of a hank formed in accordance with this invention; and FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a novel decorative article formed in accordance with this invention.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the illustrated apparatus is designed for producing banks for forming decorative articles and includes a ribbon feed apparatus 10, ribbon coiling means 12, coil transfer mechanism 14, a rotatable turret 16 on which is mounted a plurality of U-shaped ribbon grippers 18, punch mechanism 20, fastener-applying mechanism 22, and a hankremoval device 24. The individual machine components identified above by numerals 12 through 24 may be of various known constructions and consequently are illustrated herein, somewhat schematically, only to the extent necessary to facilitate a description of the invention. For instance, the illustrated coiling means 12 is a winding mandrel, though other ribbon coiling. devices may be utilized, such as, for instance, the housing apparatus disclosed in Kerrigan Pat. No. 3,097,771.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the illustrated mandrel 12 is mounted on a shaft 25 which is suitably journaled and driven for rotation, whereby the mandrel is rotatable. The mandrel 12 comprises a generally cylindrical shell 26,

having openings in two diametrically opposite portions to receive adjustable elements 28 and 30. Elements 28 and 30 are slidably mounted on the mandrel housing 31 and are movable from the retracted position shown in FIG. 3 radially outward to an outer position complementary to the remainder of the shell 26, as seen in FIG. 2. Reciprocating movement of elements 28 and 30 may be eflfectcd by suitable means such as spring 32 in cooperation with a rod-cam (not shown) extending axially through shaft 25 and engaging inwardly extending components (not shown) of the elements 28 and 30. Element 30 is formed with a tapered edge at 34 which cooperates with a tapered edge 36 on shell 26 to form a slot for receiving the leading end of a length of ribbon to be wound on the mandrel and to clamp this end of ribbon when the element is moved outwardly. Elements 28 and 30 are also formed with apertures 28a and 30a to receive impaling pins 38 and 40 of the coil transfer mechanism 14 (see FIG. 2).

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2, the ribbon coil transfer mechanism 14 includes pins 38 and 40 mounted on carrier arms 42 and 44, which are in turn supported upon racks 46 and 48. The racks are supported by a pinion (not shown) in housing 50 and are driven in reciprocating motion normal to the axis of rotation of mandrel 12 by a channel member 52 engaging a roller 54 mounted on the lower rack 48, with channel 52 being suitably reciprocated by reciprocation of a shaft 56. The ribbon transfer mechanism 14 is supported on rollers 58 and 60 which engage in suitable grooves 58a and 60a on a support member 62 to permit reciprocation of the entire mechanism 14 parallel to the axis of the mandrel.

A guide finger 64 assists in directing the leading end of a length of ribbon into the clamping slot defined by surfaces 34 and 36. After the mandrel 12 has been rotated to form a suitable coil of ribbon thereon, arms 42 and 44 are moved inwardly whereby the pins 38 and 40 impale the ribbon coil at diametrically opposite points and extend into slots 28a and 30a. The elements 28 and 30 are then retracted, and the coil transfer mechanism 14 moves axially outward from the mandrel to the position illustrated in FIG. 1, carrying the impaled coil. The arms 40 and 42 are then moved toward one another to collapse the coil whereupon carrier mechanism 14 is moved further outwardly (axially of the mandrel) to position the collapsed coil between a pair of opposed U-shaped gripping fingers 18 on the turret 16, see also FIG. 120.

The turret 16 is rotatable to carry the gripped coil to the successive positions occupied by the various sets of fingers 18 as illustrated in FIG. 1. At one of the subsequent work stations, the punch mechanism 20 cuts a notch along each side of the coil, between fingers 18, to form a narrow neck portion of the coil centrally of the collapsed coil. At a subsequent station, a fastener mechanism 22, such as a stapler, applies a securing device 8 about or through the narrow neck portions between the aforementioned notches, see FIG. 12d. A suitable bowmounting device, such as a length of tie string or a card 172 having a masked layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive on the exposed surface, may be positioned adjacent the bow at the fastener-applying station whereby the fastener S secures the mounting device to the hank at the same time that the loops are secured together by the application of the fastener.

At another work station, a hank removal device 24, such as a rotatable shaft 66 having flexible fingers 68 thereon, is utilized to strike the completed hank from the grippers 18 upon release of the hank by the grippers 18.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 48, the ribbon feed apparatus 10 includes a ribbon guide 72, a feed wheel 74 and a severing mechanism 76. Referring particularly to FIGS. 5 and 6, the guide 72 comprises a channel member 78 formed of a base plate 80 and two side elements 82a and 82b which receive a top member 84 therebetween. Top member 84 is formed with a slot 84a to receive wheel 74 and is provided with a cross bar 86 at one end. Openings 88 in the cross bar 86 engage pins 90 provided on the side elements 82a and 82b for positioning the top member. The opposite end of the top member is free to rest atop ribbon which is threaded through the channel member 78, beneath the top member 84. The end of the channel portion 78, adjacent the mandrel 12, at 92, extends at an angle, e.g., 45, to the direction of feed of the ribbon through the guide. A plate 94 is secured to the underside of plate 78 and carries a block 96 serving as a support for the ribbon as it extends from the channel end 92 toward the mandrel 12, see also FIG. 1. A slot 98 4 is provided between the block 96 and the ends of the channel and top member at 92 to accommodate the ribbon severing mechanism. At its ribbon receiving end, the guide 72 carries a spool 100 having a pair of shoulders 100a and 10% for guiding the ribbon as it is fed to the channel member 78.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the severing mechanism 76 comprises a scissors including a fixed blade 101w disposed in the slot 98 and a movable blade 10112 which is driven by a solenoid 102 and a spring 104 operating through a linkage 106 to sever ribbon extending across slot 98 when the solenoid 102 is actuated.

With a further reference to FIG. 4, a pair of supports 108 and 110 extend downward from the guide 72 and slidably engage parallel supoprt bars 112 and 114. Bars 112 and 114 are pivotally mounted at one end, as at 116, with their opposite ends being supported for vertical adjustment as by a nut 118 and an adjustable screw support 120 to facilitate alignment of the guide 72 with the ribbon slot in mandrel 12. The feed guide 72 and related apparatus is reciprocated along the support slides 1112 and 114 through the operation of an suitable drive means. The illustrated drive system includes a bell crank 122 pivotally mounted on the hank forming machine, as at 124. Arm 122a is joined to a connecting rod 126 which engages the forward support 110. The opposite arm 122b is joined to a reciprocating drive 128 which may be reciprocated by an appropriate drive mechanism in coordination with the operation of the remaining elements of the hank-forming apparatus.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 7, the feed wheel 74 is rotatably supported on a shaft 130 supported by a bracket 132 mounted on the guide 72. An arm 134 is fixed to shaft 130 and carries a drive roller 136. A presser wheel or roller 138 is supported on an arm 140 (-FIG. 4) and extends upwardly through slot 142 in plate 78 (see FIG. 6) in opposition to the lower peripheral portion of feed wheel 74. Arm 140 is secured to a shaft 144 on which a lever 146 is also mounted. A tension spring 147 is connected to arm 146 and to bracket 132 and retains the roller 138 in anormal upward position in pressure engagement with the lower surface of wheel 74. The wheel 74 may be provided with a peripheral gripping member such as an O-ring 148.

The feed guide 72 is reciprocable along slides 112 and 114 from a retracted position, as illustrated generally in FIG. -4, to a forward or freed position, as illustrated some- What schematically in FIG. 8, for purposes which will be described in further detail below. When the feed guide is in the forward feed position, drive roller 136 is positioned immediately above an operating member 150 mounted on a reciprocable shaft 152. Upward movement of shaft 152 thus will rotate arm 134 and shaft 130. Shaft 130 is in rotary drive-engagement with wheel 74 through a one-way clutch mechanism 153 to drive the wheel as the shaft is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 7. Thus, upward movement of shaft 152 will rotate arm 134 and thereby rotate wheel 74 to extend ribbon threaded through the guide 72, between wheels 74 and 138, into engagement with the winding mandrel 12. As the ribbon is subsequently drawn through the guide by the winding movement of the mandrel, the one-way clutch mechanism permits free rotation of the wheel 74, without corresponding rotation of shaft 130 and arm 134.

In some operations it may be desirable to provide disengagement of the wheels 74 and 138 from the ribbon during a part of the hank-forming operation, for instance, to prevent over-run in the feeding step due to the momentum of wheel 74 or to permit free running of the ribbon without rotation of wheel 74. This may be effected by engaging a latch 154 over arm 146 when the feed guide is in the forward position, and moving shaft 152 downwardly to thereby rotate arm 146, shaft 144 and bracket 140 to move wheel 138 downwardly away from wheel 74.

FIG. 9 illustrates a ribbon supply support which would normally be disposed in alignment with the feed guide 72 to the left of the machine as viewed in FIG. 1. This unit comprises a housing 156 having spindles 158 for supporting a plurality of spools of ribbon 160. The ribbon from each spool is threaded between a pair of rollers 162 and '164, one of these rollers being an idler and the other being driven to unwind the ribbon from the rolls and maintain a supply of loose folds of ribbon in the housing, as indicated at 166. The various ribbons, which may be of different colors, are directed out of the housing 156, between a pair of guide rolls 168, and pass from these rolls to the ribbon feed guide 72 in superimposed, register relation.

In the operation of the illustrated apparatus, indeterminate length of ribbons R are threaded from the supply support 156 through the guide 72, between the wheels 74 and 138. Assuming that the leading ends of the ribbons are at the leading edge 92 of the channel guide 78, as from the formation of a previous hank, the guide 72 is moved forward to the feed position of FIG. 8. Thereupon the feed wheel 74 is rotated to project the leading ends of the ribbons over block 96 and into the gripping slot between surfaces 34 and 36 in the mandrel 12, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 12a. The leading ends of the ribbons are then gripped in this slot, and the mandrel is rotated in the desired number of turns to wind a coil C of the ribbons thereon, see FIG. 12b. As the winding is completed, the feed guide 72 is retracted from the mandrel 12, for instance, to a position as illustrated in FIG. 4, and thereby slides along the ribbons which are now anchored by the mandrel and extend from the mandrel through the guide 72. Thereupon ribbon transfer mechanism 14 is actuated to move arms 42 and 44 inward and pins 38 and 40 impale opposite portions of the coil on the mandrel to grip and retain the turns of ribbon forming the coil C. The severing mechanism 76 is then actuated to cut the lengths of ribbon at the slot 98, thus leaving elongated tail or streamer portions T extending from the coil on the mandrel 12 to the end 92 of feed guide 72. The elements 28 and 30 of the mandrel 12 also move inwardly of the mandrel to release the coil. The ribbon transfer mechanism then slides the coil off of the mandrel, collapses the coil and places it within the adjacent set of gripping fingers 18 on the turret 16, see FIG. 12c. Subsequently, the turret rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, to carry the coil to the successive stations for notching by the punch mechanism 20, application of a fastener by mechanism 22, and for discharge by the removal device 24. It will be noted that the coil is moved away from the winding station to the succeeding stations on the side of the winding station opposite the side on which the feed mechanism is disposed, and thus is moved through the successive stations in a direction opposite to the direction of extension of the tail T from the coil body. Accordingly, the tail or streamer portions trail the coil body portion and are conveniently carried through the apparatus which performs the remaining steps in the formation of a completed hank without being folded back upon the coil body or otherwise becoming fouled about the coil body or the mechanism of the hank-forming machine.

It is believed that the steps of forming a coil for producing a hank in accordance with the method of this invention will be clear from the foregoing description of the operation of the illustrated apparatus. In outline, the ribbon, which may be fed from one or more supplies of indeterminate length, is wound into a coil. The ribbons are severed or so wound that a tail or streamer portion of significant length, e.g., a length greater than the diameter of the coil, extends from the coil. The coil is then notched along opposite side portions to form a narrow neck portion between the notches, and the turns of the coil are secured together at their narrow neck portions (see FIG. 12d) to form a novel hank, such as is illustrated in part in FIG. 13. This hank comprises a body portion B including a plurality of internested loops of ribbon extending in opposite directions from the securing device at the intermediate secured neck portions, together with a tail portion T comprising several superimposed lengths of ribbon extending in one direction from the body portion B. A completed decorative article may be formed from the hank of FIG. 13 by unnesting the several loops of ribbon in the body B of the hank and spreading the tail portions, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The novel completed bow thus includes a body portion B of a number of randomly oriented loops of ribbon as in a conventional pompon bow and a tail or streamer portion T comprising a plurality of lengths of ribbon, each of which is integral with a portion of the ribbon forming the loops B and joined thereto at the center of the base of the article by a narrow neck portion. This permits spreading of the individual tail streamers from one another generally as illustrated.

The method of forming hanks and decorative articles in accordance with this invention may be carried out with various modifications of apparatus, or by hand operations. By providing appropriate drive means for the various components of the illustrated hank-forming machine, completed hanks, as shown in FIG. 13, can be automatically and economically produced.

A modified feed guide 210 is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. This guide includes elements similar to those described in conjunction with FIG. 6 and identified by the same numerals. However, in place of support block 96, the guide 210 is provided with an elongated guide section 212 of a generally C-shaped cross section to provide a guide channel having an open end and which is open along the edge 212a which is outward from the coiling means in thedirection of movement of the coil therefrom. Section 212 includes a lower plate 214, which is secured t late 94, a spacer 216 and a top plate 218. The extension 212 is of a length corresponding generally to the desired length of the tail or streamer portions of the hanks to be formed. Accordingly, the guide 210 need not be reciprocated and may be mounted in a fixed position relative to the coiling means 12, with the feed stroke or rotation of the feed wheel 74 being adjusted to insure feeding of the leading edge of the ribbon supply from the slot 98a through the guide portion 212, to the coiling means. The open edge 212a permits egress of the tail portion of the coils after the ribbon has been severed. Although guide 210 need not be reciprocable, it may be adjustably mounted to permit insertion of guide portions 212 of various lengths for forming hanks having tail or streamer portions of various lengths.

In a further modification, a fixed feed guide may be utilized having an elongated guide portion as at 210 which is formed with transverse slots, such as slots 98 and 98a, at various distances from the end of the guide adjacent the coiling means. The severing mechanism may be adjustable to the desired preselected slot to form a tail of appropriate length. Alternatively, a severing device may be provided at each of such slots, the devices being selectively operable to form hanks with tail or streamer portions T of the desired length.

It will be obvious that other modifications of the specific embodiments shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

It will be seen that a novel decorative article has been provided which may be automatically and economically produced by machine. Further, novel and improved methods of forming hanks of ribbon for forming decorative articles have been provided which facilitate the forming of such hanks by machine. Finally, improvements in hankforming machines have been disclosed and described for economically producing novel hanks for forming decorative articles.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. Therefore, it is contemplated to cover any such modifications as incorporate those features which may be said to constitute the essential features of this improvement within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a bank of ribbon for forming a decorative article comprising winding ribbon to form a coil with a length of such ribbon projecting beyond said coil, collapsing said coil and securing two opposite portions thereof together to form a hank having said length of ribbon projecting beyond the collapsed, secured coil.

2. A method of producing a decorative article comprising forming a hank as in claim 1 with a plurality turns of ribbon in said soil, and separating the loops of ribbon at each side of the securement of said opposite portions together.

3. A method of producing a hank as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of ribbons in registered relation to one another are Wound simultaneously to form said coil.

4. In a method of producing a hank of ribbon for forming a decorative article wherein ribbon is wound into a coil at a first station and the coil is then moved in a direction generally normal to its axis to another station for further operations, feeding the ribbon to said first station from the side thereof opposite said other station.

5. In a method as in claim 4 wherein said ribbon is fed from an indeterminate length of ribbon, severing such ribbon at a position remote from said coil to provide a free tail portion of such ribbon projecting from said coil.

6. A machine adapted for forming a hank designed to form a decorative article comprising means for winding ribbon into a coil, means for feeding ribbon to said winding means from one side thereof, further means for removing a coil of ribbon from said winding means and moving such coil in a direction away from said feed means to a succeeding work position on the side of said winding means opposite said feed means, said further means comprising a plurality of coil gripping members mounted for movement to a plurality of work positions including a first position adjacent said winding means and a succeeding work position, said winding means and said further means being operable to transfer a coil from said winding means to each of said gripping members when in said first position, and means for performing a further operation on said coils at said succeeding work position.

7. A machine as in claim 6 wherein said feed means and said winding means are adapted to form a coil of a length of ribbon with a free end portion of such ribbon extending from the coil into said feed means, whereby said end portion is removed from said feeding means by said further means.

8. A machine adapted for forming a hank designed to form a decorative article comprising means for winding ribbon into a coil, means for feeding ribbon to said winding means from one side thereof, severing means for cutting such ribbon at a point spaced from said winding means to provide an elongated tail of ribbon on such coil, and further means for removing a coil of ribbon from said winding means and moving such coil in a direction away from said feed means to a succeeding work position on the side of said winding means opposite said feed means.

9. A machine as in claim 8 wherein said severing means is mounted for adjustable positioning relative to said winding means.

10. A machine as in claim 8 wherein said feed means includes a guide which is reciprocable toward and away from said winding means.

11. A machine as in claim 10 wherein said severing means is mounted on said guide.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,587,502 2/1952 McMahon 22346 X 2,654,980 10/1953 Dexter 24253 X 2,155,641 4/1939 Buser 22346 X 3,097,771 7/1963 Kerrigan et al. 22346 3,318,497 5/1967 Nimmo 22346 MERV-IN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1619 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF IQE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3,527,392 Dated September 8, 1970 Patent No.

Inventor) Josephus J. Thayer If is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 68 after "as" insert a. Column 4, line 15, "su oprt' should be support Column 5, line 24, delete "in' at beginning of line. Column 7, line 11, claim 2, should read plunality of turns line 12, claim 2, 8011" should be ooi1 SIGNED AND SEALED M81119 (SEAL) WIIIRJ a r; a.

' oomissi dpemor Pam: 

